Another Tampa Bay Sports Legend Departs.

 

After 12 seasons, Mike Evans has left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The future NFL Hall of Famer leaves the Bucs as one of the best players not just for the Buccaneers, but the Tampa Bay area. Unfortunately, this continues the trend that this area has seen its legends play elsewhere.

I was disappointed but not surprised when it was announced that Mike Evans was leaving the Bucs. Evans was a legend who ranked fourth in the Top 50 Players in Buccaneers History and will be in the NFL Hall of Fame for his magnificent career. It is disappointing that Evans would not play his entire career as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer like Lee Roy Selmon, Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber. However, for the Tampa Bay sports fans, it’s expected to see legends play elsewhere.

Just recently, we saw Tampa Bay Lightning legend Steven Stamkos leave the Bolts after 16 seasons and is currently playing for the Nashville Predators. Tampa Bay Rays legend Evan Longoria was traded after 10 seasons although he returned to the Rays to officially retire. Meanwhile, the first great Bucs quarterback Doug Williams, was let go by the Bucs after five seasons where he led them to the playoffs in three seasons. His departure was because the owners were known for being cheap. Another Bucs legends John Lynch was not brought back by the Bucs after an extraordinary 11 seasons and his teammate Warren Sapp was also not brought back after 9 amazing seasons. Both ended up in the NFL Hall of Fame and are also members of the Bucs Ring of Honor along with Doug Williams.

There is no doubt that Mike Evans will also be a member of the Bucs Ring of Honor in the future. His departure was not the result of the Bucs losing faith in his ability to perform at an elite level or that his salary was unwarranted. Mike Evans decided to leave because he believed he could win another Super Bowl. That comment stung many fans with some angry at Evans for leaving and others upset at the Bucs for losing Evans because of the direction the team is heading after failing to get into the playoffs.  

Alongside winning and losing, Tampa Bay fans are also accustomed to seeing legendary players suit up for other teams. Time heals wounds and Tampa Bay fans will ultimately only remember Mike Evans positively just like they remember other legends who left the Bucs, Lightning, and Rays. Legends who helped make our dreams come true will always get a hero’s welcome.

The Buccaneers Are a Sinking Ship.

 

Winning is the best deodorant in sports. It covers everything. Win ugly, and nobody cares how it smelled. But the Buccaneers aren’t even doing that anymore. Lately, they’re losing ugly and there’s no masking that.

In prior years, the Bucs would finish the season on a hot streak. However, this season, the Bucs are mired in a four-game losing streak and have dropped seven of its last eight. That’s not a slump. That’s a collapse. Saturday’s game against the Carolina Panthers is a must-win — winner takes the division, unless the Falcons have something to say about it. But even the stakes don’t feel dramatic anymore.

The team is a mess. The offense has actually been alright. It has been productive, but it’s also been careless. Turnovers at the worst time have been the offense’s worst self-inflicted wounds. Perhaps if the Bucs rested Baker Mayfield a few games instead of having him out there getting battered could have prevented some of the turnovers. As for the other side of the line, the defense has been atrocious. They are not dominating teams and without causing turnovers, the defense just is part of the show. All season long, the Bucs have given up big plays and have been guilty of missed assignments and missed tackles. Quite frankly, no one is intimidated when they face the Bucs. For a team built around defense and coached by a defensive-minded head coach, that’s unforgivable. Even the special teams have been team players in also playing poorly. Injuries were an excuse in the past but everyone is back and the team still looks the same.

The interesting factor here is that, for once, many fans won’t even be angry if the Bucs lose and miss the playoffs. Even if Tampa sneaks into the postseason, no one expects them to do anything. Just an early exit and a waste of talent. The fans don’t care and are tired of this team’s direction under head coach Todd Bowles.

Under Todd Bowles, the ceiling is painfully clear.  This ship is sinking, and staying afloat just long enough to delay the inevitable isn’t success; it’s denial. At some point, the Bucs either fix the foundation or stop pretending duct tape is a solution. The Buccaneers don’t need another cosmetic win. They need a new direction, and the longer they wait, the deeper the water gets in this sinking ship.

Bucs Still Look Familiar.

Another year, another déjà vu season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Midway through the season, the Bucs are now 6-4. We are back to watching the Bucs go through the routine pattern under head coach Todd Bowles.  With seven games to go, will the Bucs finish the season the same way they have the last few seasons under Bowles?

At this point, watching the Bucs under Todd Bowles the last few seasons feels like tuning into an ’80s TV classic — something like Knight Rider or The A-Team. Sure, they are exciting to watch, but after a few seasons, it got repetitive and stale. That’s what Bucs fans are dealing with now. Under Bowles, the Bucs kick off the season in impressive fashion and then go on a losing streak a late-season hot streak to win the division and get to the playoffs.

This year, the Bucs are doing the same thing. The Bucs started the season on a winning note. Sure, it involved last minute heroics by beating teams they should beat. The Bucs were once 6-2 and now they are 6-4 and should they lose to the Rams tonight, they will be 6-5, and on a three-game losing streak.

The team’s inconsistent performances only deepen the frustration. One week, the offense shows up firing while the defense seems lost. The next week, the defense is showing up while the offense struggles to get going.  Obviously, injuries to some key players doesn't help, but one can only hope everyone shows up for the Bucs on game day.

Will this season be another typical Bowles season that started with promise, slipped into the same old rut, with fans now expecting a late surge to win their division and get to the playoffs? Overall, what the Bucs are doing is not a recipe for real success. Until something changes at the top, Tampa Bay fans may be stuck watching the same old show that they have been watching. All we are left with is a cycle that the Bucs can’t seem to break, which is unfortunate since it will be a waste of talent that the Bucs are blessed with.

Bucs Dream Season Ends In Glory.

They did it! They actually did it! The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are Super Bowl champions once again. After an eighteen year wait for another playoff victory, Tom Brady has not only returned the Bucs to their winning ways; he guided them to a second Vince Lombardi trophy.

When it was announced that Tom Brady was signing with the Bucs, I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a dream at first, but then reality set in. It’s been very hard to be optimistic about the Bucs after so many years of futility, so I kept my expectations low for the season. Well, Tom Brady and the rest of the well assembled team have by far exceeded my expectations and the sweet taste of victory will be savored for a long time.

While the regular season was a bumpy ride, Tom Brady and the Bucs had their first winning season and clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The odds on the Bucs winning the Super Bowl in their own backyard was against them, but they defied the odds and made history by becoming the first NFL team win the Super Bowl in their own stadium. After the Lightning winning the Stanley Cup, the city of Tampa now has two champions to celebrate and the nicknames of Champa Bay and Tompa Bay are flying rampant in the community, and I couldn’t be happier.

The journey to glory had its doubts, with many questioning if Tom Brady could still deliver at his age. Fortunately, Father Time sat the playoffs out as Brady and the Bucs went on their magical run. However, they did get a helping hand from Lady Luck. It began with the Eagles playing not to win against Washington Football Team which meant that Washington would win the NFC East, and not the Giants, who have a good history against Brady in the postseason. Thus, the Bucs’ first playoffs opponents were Washington whose quarterback was starting his first ever NFL game. Next up were the New Orleans Saints with their quarterback Drew Brees who lacked any arm strength. Those factors were significant in those victories.

The NFC title game was in hollowed Lambeau Field against the Packers and the Bucs benefitted from the poor decision making and play calling from the Packers such as their defensive formation on Brady’s 39 yard TD throw to Scott Miller with one second left in the first half. The Packers then botched their attempt to take the lead when Aaron Rogers decided to pass the ball instead of running into the endzone and then Packers coach Matt Lafluer decided to kick a field goal instead of going for it on 4^th down. Finally, Lady Luck shined one last time when Chiefs’ offensive line were short two starters and followed that with quarterback Patrick Mahomes picking up an injury early into the Super Bowl, which meant he couldn’t terrorize the Bucs defense with his mobility and scrambling.

So, my Bucs are champions again after they ended the season on a hot streak and followed it up with a superb run in the playoffs. Tom Brady and the main core of the players are coming back for next season so can they repeat? Hopefully lightning will strike twice and the Tampa Bay area fans will enjoy more victory parades from their local teams. Now if only the Rays can join the party and win a World Series.

Pinch Me, Tom Brady is a Buccaneer.

On March 20, 2020, Tom Brady officially became a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. The man who quarterbacked the New England Patriots to six Superbowl titles was joining my beloved Bucs. Was I living in Bizarro World where a great player decides to leave a great team to join a team mired in garbage? It still hasn’t kicked in that Tom Brady will be a Bucs player but at the same, I’m not getting carried away with expectations for the upcoming season.

Tom Brady is a Bucs player still sounds surreal. Now I know understand how Angels fans felt when Albert Pujols joined the Angels, Chiefs fans after the Chiefs traded for Joe Montana, and Wizards fans when Michael Jordan came out of retirement to play for them. Those were legends of the game who joined another team that many didn’t foresee would happen. All those players and Brady, share the same uncanny similarity of joining teams, in their final years, that had only won the championship in the teams’ history. Heck of way to ride off into the sunset.

However, it doesn’t seem that Tom Brady joined the Bucs to enjoy the Florida beaches and golf courses. Brady is taking it seriously and not resting on his laurels as evidenced by working out with his teammates at ahigh school recently. He is the best quarterback to ever put on the Bucs helmet, and the addition of his buddy Rob Gronkowski has lifted spirits in this city that has been let down by their beloved Bucs team for far too long.

Nonetheless, fans and experts need to taper their expectations a bit, especially since the upcoming Super Bowl will be in our own backyard in Tampa. Vegas already listed the Bucs with 13-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, which is tied for 4^th best with the Saints. I realize Tom Brady is a walking living legend but this is a team sport and requires many players to pull their weight. There are still many weaknesses on this team that need to be addressed, such as the defense and its secondary which gave up third worst 270.1 passing yards a game, the offensive line that gave up 45 sacks and their running game that averaged only 3.7 yards a carry. Let’s not get into the unpredictable kicking situation that has plagued this team over the years. Tom and Gronk are not enough and this will truly have to be a team effort to get this team back on the winning track and into the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

Obviously, this depends on how the league will decide how the season plays out during this COVID-19 Virus pandemic. The world was rocked by this pandemic and as much as we value having sports back in our lives, we have to respect the lives of the players and coaches too. Time will tell when the NFL will kick off and when fans can return to stadiums but right now, let’s stay safe and be smart. Bucs fans have waited this long for some optimism, so let’s not rush it and risk more grave health issues.

Winston’s Woeful Era Is Over.

The era of Jameis Winston is over in Tampa. Once hailed as the savior of the Buccaneers franchise, he is now off to be a backup with a divisional rival, the New Orleans Saints. Watching quarterbacks depart this team after being drafted as the quarterback of the future is something that we have grown accustomed to in Tampa. So, after five seasons, we say farewell to the inconsistent but enthralling Jameis Winston.

Since 1976, the Bucs have drafted Doug Williams, Vinny Testaverde, Trent Dilfer, and Josh Freeman in the first round of the NFL Draft, and Steve Young was the overall first pick during 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL players. Winston joined that exclusive group of quarterbacks five years ago and expectations were high after helping guide Florida State to their third national title. Hopes were high that Winston could make the team competitive and successful as it was during Doug William’s era. But alas, Winston joined the likes of Vinny Testaverde, Trent Dilfer, Josh Freeman and Steve Young in not being the long-term solution thanks to his numerous turnovers and his costly poor decision making that resulted in zero playoff appearances and just one winning season.

Winston leaves the Bucs as their all-time passing leader with 121 Touchdowns and 19,737 passing yards that included throwing for over 5,000 yards with 30 Touchdowns and 30 interceptions in his final season. Without a doubt, Jameis Winston is a great talent, but he has also shown that he is not a great player. Perhaps joining the Saints will help him improve as a quarterback with the likes of Sean Payton and Drew Brees mentoring him, but he is no longer our concern in Tampa Bay.

Perhaps Winston’s career would have turned out differently if he had been drafted by another team coached by someone such as Andy Reid or by a successful team that wouldn’t expect Winston to carry the burden all on his own. Former NBA player Jalen Rose discussed in his autobiography the role of luck and fate regarding a professional athlete’s chances in the NBA. In his own words, Rose stated that “Get put in the right situation, with the right coaching and support around you, and it can do unspoken wonders for your career.”

Jalen Rose’s statement is true in any sport. Steve Young was a disaster with the Bucs but became an NFL great after joining the 49’ers under the tutelage of the genius Bill Walsh. Would Tom Brady have been as successful if he was drafted by the Chicago Bears instead of the Patriots or would Michael Jordan be the great one had he not had Phil Jackson as his coach or was drafted by the Clippers instead of the Bulls? Joe Montana was a third-round pick and had Bill Walsh as his coach and the rest is history.

Winston’s departure is rather unfortunate because Bucs fans are tired of disappointments and embracing yet another new project. Fortunately, the arrival of Tom Brady immediately made Bucs fans overjoyed and thinking ahead to a positive future, once the COVID-19 pandemic issues have been resolved of course. As for Winston, time will tell if he improves as a quarterback following his stint with the Saints or will he forever be classified as a great talent that could never become a great player.

Bucs come back down to earth.

Two losses in less than seven days have brought the Bucs crashing down to earth following their 2-0 start. A season that started with such promise is now back to square one. The team’s record is now 2-2 after their disastrous showing in Chicago today and they now have a bye week to reflect or pray for a miracle, before going on the road again to face the Falcons.

Fitzmagic may have come to an end but will it be any different under Winston? The offensive line is as weak as a wet paper bag and the defense keeps giving up yards like its candy on Halloween. Injuries have handcuffed the defense and the depth is not there to make up for the absences. I am not sure Mike Smith is the answer as a Defensive Coordinator either and perhaps Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter should find a replacement during the bye week.

The dream of watching this team enter the bye week 4-0 is over.  12 games remain and the way this season could end positively with a playoff berth. This season could also go down in flames where we may see a change in General Manager, coach, and perhaps the end of Jameis Winston as the franchise quarterback. Us Bucs fans though will have to endure the highs and lows the rest of the way, one game at a time.